The Indian flag is seen flying at the High Commission of India in Ottawa
| Photo Credit: AP

Normal functioning of Indian missions in Canada has been affected because of “security threats” faced by Indian diplomats and they are therefore “temporarily unable” to issue visas, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced here on Thursday.

The suspension of visa facility in Indian missions in Canada will also be enforced for third-country applicants who may choose to apply for visas through Indian missions in Canada.

Speaking at the weekly press briefing, Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi further declared that India would prefer “parity” in posting of diplomats in each other’s missions saying the number of Canadian diplomats in India is expected to be reduced.

He further informed Delhi hasn’t received any evidence from the Justin Trudeau government regarding alleged Indian hand in the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in Surrey. He urged Canada to uphold the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by ensuring safety and security of Indian diplomats in Canada. 

“You are aware of the security threats being faced by our High Commission and consulates in Canada. These have disrupted their normal functioning. Accordingly, our High Commission and consulates are temporarily unable to process visa applications. We will be reviewing the situation on a regular basis,” said Mr. Bagchi announcing suspension of Indian visas in Canada.

Since last Monday when Prime Minister Trudeau accused Indian operatives of carrying out the murder of Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, threat perception has heightened for Indian diplomats in Canada and for Ottawa’s diplomats in India. On both sides vitriolic online comments targeted serving diplomats. However, on the Canadian side, Sikhs for Justice has carried out an online campaign calling for “Indo Hindus go to India” and took out targeted poster campaigns against Indian diplomats stationed in Canada.

Mr. Bagchi took note of the threats against Indian diplomats and reminded Ottawa to ensure security for Indian officials under the Vienna Convention. India had earlier cited “politically condoned” violence in Canada against Indian citizens while issuing a travel advisory on Wednesday. Mr. Bagchi called for political will to deal with terrorism and said, “The larger issue is of terrorism supported and funded by our western neighbour Pakistan. But the issue of safe havens and places to operate has been provided abroad including by Canada.”

Earlier, the High Commission of Canada informed The Hindu that in view of prevailing tension, Canada too had “adjusted” its staff count in the diplomatic missions in India saying, “In light of the current environment where tensions have heightened, we are taking action to ensure the safety of our diplomats. With some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms, Global Affairs Canada is assessing its staff complement in India. As a result, and out of abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust staff presence in India.”

The Canadian mission also reminded India to uphold the diplomatic code of conduct as enshrined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961. The Canadian side did not confirm if the staff reduction was because of a conversation with India but Mr. Bagchi during his briefing indicated that a conversation on reduction of diplomats in the Canadian missions in India is ongoing.

“We have informed the Canadian government that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in our mutual diplomatic presence. Their numbers here are very much higher than ours in Canada. The details are being worked out. But I assume there will be a reduction from the Canadian side,” said Mr. Bagchi.

The controversy that was triggered with the allegations from Prime Minister Trudeau and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has escalated and has now encircled the consular affairs on both sides which was visible on the visa front during Thursday when a private agency that issues Indian visas for Canada put up a public notice which was temporarily pulled down only to be flashed again. A source at the BLS International, the private entity that processes Indian visas for Canada, said the notice was put up after authorisation from the Government of India.

The consular hurdle is expected to broaden and affect normal exchanges between the two sides which has prompted former Indian High Commissioner to Canada Vishnu Prakash to point out the political clout of the Khalistan supporters in Canadian polity. “The Khalistani issue continues to bedevil the relationship, with certain political parties especially the Liberals prioritising their engagement with them over ties with India, as they control a few parliamentary constituencies and allegedly extend material and financial support to the latter parties,” said Mr. Prakash.

India is “temporarily unable to process visa applications” from Canada because of “security threats faced by our High Commissions and Consulates” in that country, the government said Thursday afternoon, as hostilities escalate over accusations that “agents of New Delhi” killed a Khalistani terrorist and Canadian national – Hardeep Singh Nijjar – on Canadian soil. 

The Foreign Ministry statement comes hours after BLS International – a private agency hired for initial scrutiny of visa requests – cited “operational reasons” to suspend services till further notice.

“You are aware of the security threats being faced by our High Commissions and Consulates in Canada… this has disrupted their normal functioning. Accordingly, our High Commissions and Consulates are temporarily unable to process visa applications,” Arindam Bagchi, the ministry spokesperson, told reporters. “We will be reviewing the situation on a regular basis.”

The Indian government has also suspended issue of electronic visas, Mr Bagchi added, stressing that the issue is about “discrimination in how visas are granted by the Canadian side”.

READ |Indian Visas For Canadians Suspended Amid Row: “Operational Reasons”

“All categories of visas are suspended. Issue not about travel to India… those who have valid visas (issued before this suspension order) are (cleared) to travel to India. The issue is the creation of an environment that disrupts functioning of our consulates and high commission,” he said.

Mr Bagchi dismissed claims Indian “agents” had killed Nijjar and called them “politically driven”. He pointed out that “no specific information” had been shared by Ottawa on the alleged killing.

READ | “Allegations By Canada Politically Driven”: India Amid Diplomatic Row

“We are willing to look at specific information if provided… from our side, we have very specific information on particular individuals in Canada and all these have been shared with them.”

“But Canada hasn’t acted on them,” he said.

On India expelling a senior diplomat – after Canada ordered a top Research and Analysis Wing official to leave its borders – Mr Bagchi said the other side had been asked to downsize its diplomatic presence in India citing “interference of Canadian diplomats in Indian affairs”.

READ |In Tit-For-Tat Move, India Asks Canada Diplomat To Leave Within 5 Days

“Canadian diplomatic presence in India is larger than what India has (in Canada)… accordingly needs to be downsized. There should be parity, their numbers are much higher,” Mr Bagchi said.

READ | “Interference In Our Affairs”: India Wants Reduction In Canada Diplomats

Apart from each side ejecting one official, India and Canada also traded adverse travel advisories. 

Canada updated its India advisory this week to mirror that of the United States and it explicitly mentions Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, warning of “violent clashes between militants and security forces in the former” and “ethnic tensions” leading to “conflict and civil unrest”in the latter.

READ | Canada Rejects India’s Travel Advisory Amid Escalating Diplomatic Row

And, on Wednesday, shortly after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met PM Modi in the new Parliament building, India advised its citizens in Canada, and those contemplating travelling, to exercise “utmost caution” in view of anti-India activities and “politically-condoned” hate crimes.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia in June. Hailing from Punjab’s Jalandhar, he was chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India’s most wanted terrorists. There was a Rs 10 lakh reward for his capture or information leading to his arrest.

India-Canada ties were already tense after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s conversation with Canada’s Justin Trudeau at the G20 Summit in Delhi this month. The PM expressed India’s “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities” in that country.